Fantasy Football: Eric Decker, Matt Forte Among Week 17 Studs, Duds

To the fantasy football owners whose playoffs extended into Week 17, we offer our condolences.

The final week of the NFL season is hard enough to navigate, as the availability of many star players is up in the air with the playoffs on the horizon.

Yet Sunday’s slate decided to offer several unpredictable final twists. Did you have Eric Decker on your bench after an entire season of relative futility in New York? Don’t mind if he goes off for a career-high 221 receiving yards against the Miami Dolphins. Did you start Matt Forte, hoping he’d put up more big numbers against the Minnesota Vikings? Don’t mind if he posts his lowest fantasy output since Week 2.

Of course, we can’t feel too bad for you. You’re in the fantasy championship game, after all, and plenty of owners who would love to be in your position. That said, we’d hate to see your title hopes go down the drain because you didn’t start Michael Floyd.

As the 2014 fantasy football season officially draws to a close, here are some players who either dashed your championship dreams Sunday or left you feeling like a real winner.

STUDS
Colin Kaepernick, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers: After a mostly abysmal 2014 campaign, Kaepernick went out with a bang. One week after his huge game against the San Diego Chargers, he threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns and added 63 rushing yards to top 20 fantasy points for the second consecutive week in standard-scoring leagues.

C.J. Anderson, Running Back, Denver Broncos: Anderson had one more gift for fantasy owners, cashing in three touchdowns in the regular-season finale against the Oakland Raiders. It’s no coincidence that this waiver-wire steal is on a lot of championship fantasy teams this season.

Lamar Miller, Running Back, Miami Dolphins: How do you boost your fantasy stats? Run for a 97-yard touchdown in the third quarter, that’s how. That play alone got Miller owners 15 fantasy points in standard leagues and could have been the difference between fantasy glory and second place.

Eric Decker, Wide Receiver, New York Jets: Where was this all season, Eric? Geno Smith and the Jets’ passing attack randomly decided to resurrect themselves Sunday, and Decker was the main beneficiary, posting an absurd 221 receiving yards and one touchdown. Yeah, we don’t have an explanation, either.

Michael Floyd, Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals: Speaking of “where was this all season.”… After frustrating fantasy owners all season, Floyd somehow posted 153 receiving yards and two touchdowns with Ryan Lindley as his quarterback. Gotta love fantasy football.

DUDS
Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons: The stage was set for Ryan to lead your team to a fantasy championship and his team to the NFL playoffs. After throwing for 260 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, he likely did neither.

Matt Forte, Running Back, Chicago Bears: Forte had an awesome matchup against the Vikings, whom he torched for 117 rushing yards earlier in the season. Yet Minnesota limited him to just 74 total yards and zero touchdowns, which aren’t exactly championship-caliber stats.

Jamaal Charles, Running Back, Kansas City Chiefs: Charles is one of the best running backs in the NFL, but he didn’t play like in the last three weeks of the season. His 54-rushing-yard output Sunday ended what likely was a frustrating fantasy postseason for Charles owners.

Vincent Jackson, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jackson had a monster game against the New Orleans Saints earlier this season, but he was nowhere to be found Sunday, taking a backseat to Mike Evans while catching only one pass for 11 yards. Not ideal.

Kelvin Benjamin, Wide Receiver, Carolina Panthers: Benjamin managed to “one-up” Jackson on Sunday, gaining just 9 yards on his only catch to post zero fantasy points in leagues that don’t use fractional points. A frustrating end to an otherwise impressive season.

Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images